The recent 2018 World Finals for League of Legends blew fans and non-fans alike by a release that combined LoL, Kpop, and technology into one fiery product: K/DA. However, this isn’t the first time LoL and K-pop has collided! Keep reading to find out about the fun crossovers we have witnessed in the K-pop community so far.
As mentioned, the recent collaboration that brought LoL and K-pop to light was the release by K/DA. (G)-IDLE‘s Soyeon voiced the bold Akali while Miyeon did the same for the foxy Ahri. It was revealed that they donned full motion capture gear to bring the dancing from real life into the animated music video that went wildly popular. It currently holds a whopping 59 million views and is still rising.
Twitter was flooded with fan-art and tweets, expressing how awesome the overall production was. Because of the immense success of K/DA and their release, entitled “POP/STARS,” significant attention beyond K-pop was brought to Soyeon and Miyeon.
They performed the song live with equally talented ladies: Madison Beer and Jaira Burns. The two lent their singing and dancing to the two other K/DA characters, Evelynn and Kai’sa, at the League of Legends World Finals 2018 held in Incheon, South Korea on November 3rd.
League of Legends, conveniently shortened into LoL, is a globally popular e-sport under Riot Games. It is estimated to have more or less 100 million players worldwide. Countless people are dedicated spectators and hardcore players. This is said to be true and more in South Korea, the famed LCK region, where a lot of the game’s most popular teams and players reside.
With LoL and Kpop both having strong presences in South Korea, it was inevitable that these two would somehow meet, one way or another. Check out some of our favorite moments below!
1. Super Junior’s Kim Heechul Being A Successful LoL Fanboy
Heechul is a well-known LoL enthusiast. Despite his busy schedules, he plays as much as he can in the lulls between his activities. He also proudly supported SKT, attended their games, and became friends with the team’s coach, Kkoma.
In 2015, Heechul played against a full SKT for gaming channel OGN and caused massive laughter and chaos on set. In 2016, he even managed to play against various pro players in a China VS Korea stream with EXO‘s Baekhyun and snagged an appearance at the World analyst desk. What a guy!
Watch Heechul VS SKT below!
Watch Heechul on the Analyst Desk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W2lI8qNIGY
2. Gugudan On A Child Safety Campaign With SKT T1
Gugudan and SKT T1 together? Yes, please! SK Telecom and Seoul Police Department arranged the match between gugudan and SKT T1 in 2017 as part of a campaign to draw attention to child safety. This was to bring awareness to the number of children who go missing and to help decrease its incidence. Look how competitive both teams are!.
3. BIGBANG’s “Lies” Covered by ROX Tigers (2016)
The much-loved hit by BIGBANG was humorously covered by then crowd favorites ROX Tigers back in 2016 for one of OGN’s many funny videos. They even dubbed themselves Big Tigers for this performance!
4. Produce 101? Produce LoL
OGN definitely has a lot of time and effort to spare when it comes to their infamous shoots. This time, the television company managed to convince the poor boys of the LCK to make a parody of the hit show Produce 101. Which League of Legends player should end up in their version of the final group? Watch the video and tell us your pick!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2J1Qlv3r-VY
5. Red Velvet’s Joy and Seulgi with SKT Faker on Hello Counselor
Red Velvet‘s Joy and Seulgi came as guests on the popular TV show, Hello Counselor. Lee Sanghyeok, also known as Faker, the Unkillable Demon King himself, was also invited to join. The news spread fast on SNS. The rumors of his TV appearance was confirmed by SKT T1’s official Twitter account by posting pictures of Faker with the cast.
Which moment was your favorite crossover between K-pop and Lol? Let us know your thoughts!
Katherine has been an ELF since 2011. She reads just about anything and is a parent of eight demanding cats. She likes to stay home and worry about Heechul’s imminent balding during her free time.
MEDIA: Riot Games, Twitter, YouTube